Fundraisers & questions

This has raised an issue that’s been bothering me for some time. It’s not just FPFW, but the lack of transparency in so many of these crowdfunders. For women who don’t have much and keep ‘digging’ in good faith, it’s concerning that money not spent or leftover from crowdfunders is going who-knows-where? Even with successful cases, there’s never any accounts to see after everyone stops celebrating the win.

I’m reminded of the Jennifer James ‘All women’s shortlist’ case against Labour - the last I heard she had about £40,000 sitting in her personal bank account, and it’s been months and months since there was any activity on the case.

Even the Crowdjustice crowdfunders are somewhat questionable. Apparently if any money isn’t spent then the crowdfunder owner can just ‘gift’ it to another Crowdjustice crowdfunder - who knows what that would be for?

I have to agree with the OP that I feel like my good will (and finances) are running thin. There’s lots of women who have been significantly impacted by Covid, yet just a handful of people seem to be starting lots of crowdfunders with no accountability and no transparency. I think it’s wrong that we seem to be funding them personally, when so many of us do lots of work (rightly so) totally unpaid.

If the original crowdfunding page for FPFW stated that leftover funds would be used for other campaigns by the same organisation, then I'm afraid it is a caveat emptor situation. The time to question FPFW was before you gave them money under those terms--"Hey, this 'other campaigns' thing is a bit vague, can you clarify?" and then make an informed decision about whether you were happy with your donation being used that way.

I know that's really frustrating and I agree there would be some benefits to a central way of handling this, though I'm sure there are also risks involved in that.

Have you tried contacting FPFW about your donation directly? Apologies if you already said this and I forgot, my brain is like a sieve these days.

Personally, I felt like this had a very slim chance of success on this short timescale. I thought it was money being pissed against the wall.

I'm quite happy to let what has been one of the most effective organisations in this area incorporate my donation into their future plans as they see fit, and I made the donation on that basis - I checked that statement and was happy with it. (In part because I did not really expect a win, so it seemed moot).

But I agree that given the sums involved, I would be expecting to see some decent accounts of where it ends up being used, for transparency purposes.

But not this early!

They really will not have been incorporating this windfall into any previous plans, so I'm sure they're going to have their work cut out figuring what they could do with that money. And I agree that bailing out FWS for their loss should be a possibility, and I don't disagree with polling donors if technically feasible.

On general transparency, at some point the bigger organisations like FPFW will have to become real organisations with more formal structure and openness. A lot of outfits like LGB Alliance are still in a sort of nowhere land between "couple of people in a pub" and a real organisation. FPFW is getting quite real. But still not real enough to actually have more than 1 staff.

Where will the gradual dispersal of these funds be accounted for so all donors can see where their money has gone/is going? Are there plans for this type of transparency? If not, why not?

What does "other FPFW campaigns" mean? Court cases? Legal opinions? Production of campaign materials? Will this detail be laid out accounting for the costs obtained by monies originally destined for the census case? If not, why not?

Will any of this money go on general running costs such as web hosting or salaries? Will the accounting for this be shared? If not, why not?

This stuff matters. If anyone here saying "But I trust Nic, our glorious leader" has also criticised the way Reclaim These Streets originally went about their fundraising then they really need to give their heads a wobble.

It's not personal. It's not a criticism of Nic. Everything Barbara Rich said about Reclaim These Streets can be applied here, even if there was some vaguery of a get out clause in the crowdfund text.

My best suggestion to FPFW is that if you want a general running fund, pay for it by flogging stuff as Posie does. I'd buy loads. Directed donations should be restricted for their original purpose or consulted on before disposal. Just as actual charities have to do. It's that little thing called integrity.

But I'm apparently not allowed to voice an opinion

Of course you are! But people are allowed to have a different opinion to you.

as someone who has worked on a number of campaigns (not in this field) the majority of the money goes on paying for people's time and expert advice along with administration costs.

Best thing to do is to contact FPFW and ask them what their future plans are but also as PP said, I dont think its unreasonable to have a bit of patience. It was only last week after all

The terms and conditions were set out up front, so I am really not sure why you are so angry, to be honest. I think they achieve a massive amount on a shoestring, and I’m happy with the level of transparency. You’re obviously not, but that’s your prerogative. Ask them! I’m still not clear if you’ve actually raised this with the people who can help you with it.

None of us have a crystal ball to see into the future so we have to trust their track record to choose worthwhile fights in the future. Look at what they’ve achieve on barely any money - a seat at the table at IOC meetings, the only women’s group representative at the World Rugby workshops, the Judicial Review for prison policy and now the ONS.

I'll ask again - what exactly is it that all this cash is paying for? 'Future campaigns' by any stretch of imagination isn't transparent or accountable.

Might I suggest some patience? It's what, less than a week since winning the case? And they presumably haven't even got all the accounting from that settled, and likely haven't even received any actual costs payment yet.

I suspect they were too busy during the case to figure out what to do with the money if they won, and I think doing so might have been something of a distraction from what they should have been doing, which was running that case.

So "what is it paying for"? Nothing, yet.

How fast do you want them to pin down the future campaigns? Do they need to roadmap the next years activities with you in advance, by Friday?

The FPFW raised money to fund the ONS action and used it for that. So I do not feel entitled to a refund. It would be nice if they supported FWS especially if there is a chance they could appeal. I am sure they would do other good work with it but maybe some?

WTF I think the best idea is for your to take this up with FPFW. I hope you get some clarity/your money back.

I think it’s important to discuss where funds are coming from and how they’re used, and I’m not saying that you shouldn’t ask for clarity on that in regards to the ONS funding at all. Did you contact them? Did they respond?

Personally, I am happy that my donation is used for other FPFW campaigns, because that was my understanding when I donated. I’m not being brainwashed to say that, it’s my genuine feeling.

The problem I have is that i don't agree to everything FPFW are campaigning for, so I need to consider that when the next crowdfunded comes around. I may agree with the highlighted case, but it's just that, one case that may or may not use my cash. I could be contributing to other, less publicised causes that I'm not on board for.

I think this is a fair point. We, rightly, criticise Jolyon and his Good Law Project when they fundraise for issues like PPE contracts then it turns out money raised might go towards challenging the Bell judgement.

FPFW (and others) are a less extreme example than that but crowd sourcing is still fairly new and very unregulated. There's a strong chance I will support whatever FPFW do next but it's not guaranteed.

I'm not comfortable with the idea that FWS might go under when a bit of teamwork between orgs could help them out and jointly tackle what's going on in Scotland inc the census coming up in a years time. I don't think the main grass roots Scottish women's org should be left out of plans for their own census.

I take the point someone made earlier that we need to continue supporting FWS individually if we can and I've done just that this morning but I'm aware it might not be enough.

I posted on the ‘FPFW won their case and costs’ thread that I’d quite like half of my donation back as I’d since become aware of other fundraisers that I’d like to donate to.

I’ve got to be honest I didn’t fully read all the terms and conditions about what they’d do with the money if it wasn’t used.

I do recall getting an email after my first donation (I donated twice) about an admin error with a link to click through if I wanted my pledge refunded, so I’m not sure why it would be difficult to do that again now.

I’ve had a little insight into the background work that FPFW do with regards to sport as they have helped me. They’re doing a huge amount of work behind the scenes supporting many women fight the take over of their sport by Stonewall’s anti-women policies.

I have no doubt they have further battles ahead that will need funding and I am more than happy for them to keep my donation to put towards those fights.

If you don't agree with everything FPFW are campaigning for (totally fair enough viewpoint), then you shouldn't have given to this cause. As a lot of us have said, it was made pretty clear that any funds surplus to the ONS case requirements would be used for other FPFW campaigns.

You rarely know exactly where your money goes to when giving to charities either - it's all one big pot.

Like a PP, the result we wanted to was achieved and that's the main thing. It's a bonus that there will be money left over for another cause.

I don't think it's wrong to question FPFW or any organisation that asks for donations.

I assume that they want to continue to work for this cause, so unless they intend to find alternative revenue sources, they need to be aware of how women feel about their transparency and how likely they will contribute in the future.

Has the court given an order on who should pay costs in fws Jr? I know they lost so should expect to have to pay but has the court said that?

As I understand it, it was decided early on in the legal proceedings that each side would be responsible for their own costs. So FWS do not have to pay anything apart from their own legal fees.

It's on the crowdfunding page - fairly early on in the Overview section.

If any funds are left over after the legal action they will be used for other Fair Play For Women campaigns.

I can only speak for myself, but this has made me very aware of what I'm actually contributing to if I donate.

I didn't really give to 'recording sex on the census' court case, did I? I donated to FPFW and their latest campaign was the census.

The problem I have is that i don't agree to everything FPFW are campaigning for, so I need to consider that when the next crowdfunded comes around. I may agree with the highlighted case, but it's just that, one case that may or may not use my cash. I could be contributing to other, less publicised causes that I'm not on board for.

It would be helpful if fpfw could point out where they said at the beginning how funding would be used in the event of some being left over. I'm sure they are right but I can't find it

It's here. 6th paragraph down.

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/sexinthecensus2021